Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Only you would put child sacrifice in a movie and release it as a comedy. We see you, and every person who appeared in this movie. The world is waking up. #TheGreatAwakening

Making long-after sequels to classic comedies is risky: while "Clerks 2" and "Anchorman 2" got away with it, "Zoolander 2" - released 15 (!) years after the cult original - is a giant waste of time.Yes, the film tries to tick all the nostalgic boxes, with plenty of references to the original - nearly everyone from the first film returns - and plenty of celebrity cameos, but it's not as inspired as the original. Even attempts to parody the ridiculousness of fashion don't work, coming off as embarrassing at times.The plot tries to incorporate spy elements and even some strange "Da Vinci Code" cult/conspiracy, but it still doesn't work. Derek (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) are the exact same idiots from 15 years ago (which was endearing and funny back in 2001), only Derek has a son and Hansel has a family with a bizarre orgy group. So is there anything good about this movie? Justin Bieber's death is entertainingly violent, it's great to see the gorgeous Penelope Cruz again, and Benedict Cumberbatch has a ball playing a pretentious, gender-fluid model.If you love "Zoolander", ignore this garbage and watch the original for the millionth time. It'd be a much better use of your time.

Our two super models are lured out of retirement by Billy Zane. They go to Rome where they are used and work with the INTERPOL fashion police (Penélope Cruz) to discover who is killing the world's pop stars (Justin Bieber dies in first scene). Zoolander (Ben Stiller) wants to become a dad again to his plus size son (Cyrus Arnold) in an orphanage. He is the target in an idiotic plot which says it really was Adam and Steve in the Garden of Eden.Okay, the film was stupid. It spoofs other films by taking scenes from them, films like Star wars, Omen, Silence of the Lambs, and Bond films. The fun part of the film was watching all the stars in ridiculous roles, most playing themselves, like Sting, Katy Perry, Billy Zane, Kate Moss, Tommy Hilfiger, and Susan Boyle flipping off the media. Other stars had bit roles as other people such as John Malkovich and Kristen Wiig.There was scenes to laugh at and other scenes to groan at. If you like "Dumb and Dumber" humor, this has it.Guide: 1 F-word. No sex or nudity. Some crude humor.

Ben Stiller's Derek Zoolander has returned, but he is nowhere as funny as the goofy fashion model we saw back in 2001, and neither are the actors who are left adrift in this comedic wasteland. 'Zoolander' is a popular film tat gradually gained a cult following for its clever, yet zany comedic energy and its ability to push the envelop. None of these are present here, and the floundering results of what transpires from Stiller and Justin Theoraux's script is a hot mess of a movie that fails to justify why a sequel was even remotely necessary. Ben Stiller and his co-star Owen Wilson have proved their comedic prestige numerous of times in the past. Just take a look back at the former in his role in the Hollywood satire 'Tropic Thunder'. It even makes it more disconcerting as to why these laugh-out-loud veterans let themselves drown in a sea where laughs are scarce and the gut-busting substance from its predecessor is left absent. Stiller reprises his role as Derek Zoolander, the former fashion model who has fallen from grace after his children's center is destroyed in an explosion that kills his wife Matilda (played by Christine Taylor) and his son (played by Cyrus Arnold) is taken away by Child Protection Services. When all hope seems lost, Zoolander is recruited by Billy Zane (playing himself) on a mission to Rome to take down the evil mastermind Mugatu (played by Will Ferrell) who has assassinated a large number of celebrities suited as secret agents. Reuniting with his best friend Hansel (played by Owen Wilson) who has resided with a family in Egypt, Zoolander must join forces with sexy central intelligence agent Valentina (played by Penelope Cruz) on a mission to bring down Mugatu, and possibly get his son back. This movie holds a large roster of celebrity cameos including Justin Bieber who bursts on screen in the extravagant opening action sequence, Katy Perry, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Tommy Hilfiger, Christina Hendricks, Kiefer Sutherland, and many, many others that are nearly impossible to remember. If that is not enough, perhaps I should mention Benedict Cumberbatch playing a transgender that gets treated to off-color jokes that hold the capacity to either to leave audiences chuckling or rolling their eyes. Aside from it feeling awkward and out of place, it is just an example of how this film believes that flashing popular show star on screen is somehow must to equate for laughs. Here's the sad news: it doesn't. It only becomes more of a tactic to distract us from the lack of laughs that pervade throughout the picture. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are left confined in the restraints of a script that fails to allow them to provide good jokes and limits to them to spewing countless one- liners, with only a fraction of them actually being laugh-worthy. Although the two are subject a genuinely funny moment or two, the rest of time sees the duo rehashing on run-of-the-mill silliness that might have been funny twenty years ago. And the subplot involving the titular character trying to rekindle his relationship with his son never sports any substance as opposed to the film which pushed the envelop with its politically-charged plot involving the assassination of the Malaysian prime minister. This movie is just too interested to playing things safe. Will Ferrell never delivers any bright moments nor does Penelope Cruz who is given relatively nothing to do other than serve as sex appeal which would have been more acceptable if she was actually funny. Zoolander 2 is not the comedic adventure we deserve nor does it justify why a follow-up to its 2001 cult classic was needed. Unfunny and depriving the charm of its predecessor, this movie is a hot mess that only spares evidence that the original film would have been better off as a stand-alone hit. Some sequels to comedy hits hit the right mark, but they come rarely and this movie is not one of them.